The present invention relates generally to a dust ruffle for use on a bed and more particularly to an adjustable dust ruffle that can be used with beds having varying heights.
A conventional bed includes a box spring and mattress. Generally the bed is supported by a bed frame that rests on the floor. In a typical bedroom, the head of the bed abuts a wall and is not seen by people in the bedroom. Therefore, dust ruffles commonly have at least three sides of colorful fabric that can easily be seen by people coming into the bedroom.
Heretofore, the placement of dust ruffles around three sides of a box spring usually required the complete removal of the mattress from the box spring. The dust ruffles of the prior art were affixed to the perimeter of a sheet. This sheet, of a fixed length and width, had to be properly placed between the mattress and the box spring so that the dust ruffles would hang vertically from the sheet and substantially cover the sides of the box spring. Many prior art dust ruffles were only suitable for use with a box spring of a particular length and width. This is because the length and width of the sheet with the dust ruffle had to match the dimensions of the box spring. Even with a properly sized sheet, the placement of the dust ruffle around the box spring was often quite time consuming and tedious. Thus, there is a need for a dust ruffle that is easy to install on the bed.
In addition, many prior art dust ruffles had a fixed length of about 14 Â½ inches from the top of the box spring to the hem. This height is often referred to in the industry as “drop”. In today's market, a fixed drop is often unsuitable because box springs are no longer produced to a standard height. This sometimes creates an unsightly gap between the floor and the hem of the dust ruffle when the box springs are higher than normal or leaves the hem with excess material laying on the floor when the box spring is shorter. There is a need for an easily adjustable dust ruffle to provide the desired spacing between the hem of the dust ruffle and the floor on box springs of any height.
Various U.S. patents have issued on dust ruffles including: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,897,891; 5,205,003; 5,335,383; 5,621,931; 5,749,110; 6,151,731 and 6,276,009. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,750 has issued on a Separable Expansion Bed Shield Set.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,317 is for a Dust Ruffle For a Bed. This patent discloses attachment means 18′ and 18″ that are embedded in the box spring. A mesh portion of the dust ruffle engages the attachment means.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,082 is for an Anchor Pin for Dust Ruffle. The underside of the anchor has an adhesive that secures the anchor to a flat section of the dust ruffle.
Published U.S. application, US 2003/0028965 A1 published on Feb. 13, 2003, discloses an adjustable bed skirt. The bed skirt is made of multiple panels that include a non-slip portion that is inserted between the mattress and the box spring. The bed skirt also has caps that are positioned at each corner of the bed to close the gaps between adjacent panels. The draped height of the panels can be adjusted by adjusting the amount of material that is inserted between the mattress and the box spring.